


Letters from Ostwick

by Ohsoprecious



Series: Vexeris Trevelyan [6]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Parents, Support
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-04-23 00:57:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4857101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ohsoprecious/pseuds/Ohsoprecious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Inquisitor flees his own castle. It's up to Dorian and the advisors to find out why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Letters from Ostwick

When he met Vexeris Trevelyan, he would've never guessed how volatile he could be. One minute he was seething, the next he was as calm as a kitten. At one time he swore he saw him argue with Cullen quite vehemently, only to find him at the tavern, exchanging barbs and jokes with Bull and his chargers.  
So when he found him visibly angry, storming out of the caste, heading for the stables, he ran after him. He knew something was wrong, if by the time he reached them, he was still seething.

"Amatus?"

"Not now, Dorian."

Definitely wrong. He took out his horse, a proud beast and jumped on, without a saddle. He barked at the poor soldier guarding the gates and spurred the animal, disappearing from view.

He didn't know how long he stood there, but at some point Cullen arrived, looking quite flustered.

"What happened? I've just had to calm down one of my soldiers, reporting that the Inquisitor nearly ran him over."

"I don't know. He just...left."

"And he didn't tell you why? When is he coming back?"

"I don't know, Commander," he said, curtly. Maker, he was worried enough, without everyone asking questions.

"I'll go ask Leliana. You didn't have a fight with him, did you?"

A shiver passed trough him. He looked at the Commander who gave him a curious look, waiting for his response.

"I...no."

"And he was fine, when you woke up?"

A conversation like this in Tevinter would be unthinkable. A relationship between two men addressed so casually, as if there was nothing strange about it. Not only that, the implication that they shared a bed regularly, addressed like the simplest thing in the world. He felt a wave of gratitude for the Commander. They should have been natural enemies, but it was moments like these that he was reminded why he enjoyed the blonde Templar's company so much.

"Yes, he was."

The mystery was solved an hour later, when Josephine remembered the Inquisitor had received a letter from his parents. Dorian didn't think twice about it, going to Vexeris's quarters and searching for it.

He shouldn't have been surprised. He'd known they were on bad terms with each other. But he hadn't expected the arrogance, the condescending tone that seeped through the letter.  
They wanted him to come home and now that he was respectable, to marry, and leave the Inquisition to those who really led it. They even had a woman lined up and they went to great lengths to describe her. To put a stop to the rumors that he was sleeping with a Tevinter magister, because it had embarrassed them greatly at the last fete they went to.  
He couldn't believe it. There was a chasm between the man they described, they thought him to be and who he really was, who he knew him to be.  
A figurehead? Right. The inquisition was in uproar, everyone tense for their missing leader. He was the one holding it all together and everyone, from the advisors to the stableboy knew it.  
Marry? He grimaced when he even thought of a naked woman. He certainly wasn't going to wed one.  
But it was the lack of any form of care that struck him the most. For all his faults, he knew his father still loved him, in his way. His family had loved him, even after he grew up and his fatal flaw showed. But this?  
Weren't they the least bit worried about him? Hadn't they heard the reports of Haven? Of Crestwood? The man walked into danger every day, with only a handful of people to protect him. Even his father had sent a letter, after their tense meeting, asking to at least be careful, to remember his teachings and always keep his barrier up.  
He was still holding the letter in his hands, when Leliana joined him in the Inquisitor's quarters.

"My scouts sent a raven," she said, not commenting on the fact he was here nor on the letter he'd been obviously reading," he's riding alone not far from Skyhold. I've a few people shadowing him, making sure he's fine, from a distance."

He nodded, a wave of relief filling him.

"We should deal with his family, in some way. This can't be a regular occurrence."

He whipped around, anger rising. Vex was a human being, he should be allowed to...

"I only mean, such disrespect for the Inquisitor can't be allowed to stand. Just because they are his parents, doesn't mean that they can treat our leader like a prized mount."

Dorian closed his mouth, grumbling to himself. She was right of course, as usual. It wasn't only the fact that it sent his followers into a panic. This wasn't their troublemaker disobedient youngest son anymore and one way or another they had to realize it. Anyone else, but his family, would have been thrown from the battlements for such an offense. After Cassandra had a go at them first, of course. The Seeker had a habit of taking any insult to the Inquisitor as an affront to herself.

"What are you suggesting?"

"Nothing, for now. I'll speak to Josie, see if she has any ideas. But, you should talk to him, when he gets back."

"About?"

"What he would do, if these weren't his parents."

He almost said he didn't need to ask that. He knew what he would say. Vexeris wasn't a bad person, but he had a ruthless streak in him he'd witnessed more than a few times. Leliana probably knew it too. After all she'd been the one to handle the merchant who'd refused to sell him his amulet back. A mistake he was surely regretting now.

When the Inquisitor rode back into the keep, Dorian didn't waste any time. He waited until he was in his rooms, grabbed one bottle of fine wine, along with a tray of food and went quickly up the staircase that led to the tower.  
He found him sprawled on the bed, an arm covering his eyes, his clothes dirty and wet from the day long ride in the snow.

"You're going to catch something horrible if you don't change, amatus."

The man rose to sit, surprised at his presence. His eyes landed on his desk, noticing all the papers turned over.

"Was that you? Or Leliana?" he said, gesturing to the opened letters. Dorian had spent the day, sifting through all the letters his parents had sent over the months, trying to find an ounce of caring, something to make him feel a pang of regret to what he knew Leliana was about to propose. He didn't find it.

"It was me. I know I shouldn't have pried, it is not my business, but...."

"It's fine. If it's you, it's fine. I'm guessing you've read them all?"

He nodded, setting down the tray on the nearest flat surface.

"Is that for me? My my a Tevinter Altus getting my dinner. I've moved up in the world."

"Not quite. This is....a worried lover bringing the food, instead of a stranger I'm sure you're not in the mood to see."

Vexeris gave him a small smile, before beginning to strip, freeing himself from the dirty clothes. Dorian couldn't help looking, admiring the toned body, strong muscles born from the constant fighting, the tanned skin and the patchwork of freckles on his shoulders.

"I believe the food is that way, Dorian," he said, smirking, knowing exactly what the show was doing to the mage.

He looked away, pretending to obey, opening the bottle of wine and pouring himself and the Inquisitor a glass.

"How was your ride?"

"Liberating. Though I'd much rather ride you, at this moment," he said, his usual smirk plastered on his face.

"Oh? I believe tonight is my turn, amatus."

"Who said anything about one turn?"

It had surprised him at first. In his experience, sex was done once, maybe a few more times on a later date, most usually in a inebriated state, something to place the blame on, to save appearances. If he was lucky, his partner for the night, didn't flee or chase him away from the bed, as soon as they were done. If there was even a bed involved.  
But Vexeris wasn't like that. He had sex as a celebration of life, finding joy, passion and even a sort of purity in it, something that shouldn't be possible for such a crude act. More than once a night, wasn't that unusual, not with him, no matter how tired he was. Unless Dorian was. Then he crawled next to him, kissing away his protests and ordered him to sleep.  
Dorian had fled, after the first nights together, thinking about appearances and propriety, about what he was supposed to do, even with the promise of more.  
Vexeris had not been pleased.

"Perhaps later. Now you will get out of those garish clothes, take a bath and eat something. You've been away all day. I'll go find a servant."

"What happened to, "not in the mood to see strangers?"

Dorian hesitated. He was right, of course, but he honestly thought a warm bath would help with the tension he was obviously carrying.

In the end, after several hours, with the Inquisitor now clean and sated, he breached the subject of his parents, combined with Leliana's opinion about them. He'd frowned, but otherwise didn't react as Dorian recounted the events of the day.

"What do you think I should do?"

If Dorian was being honest with himself, the question scared him. More than once, the Inquisitor had asked for his counsel, his opinion. He'd told himself it was because he was a mage, when the matter was magical. Other times he told himself it was because he was an outsider and viewed things differently. A fresh perspective. Lately he told himself he wasn't the only one Vexeris went to for an opinion. He would soon run out of excuses.  
Secretly he was happy his lover went to him, valued him and his opinions in equal measure. But, unlike Trevelyan, he overheard a lot of the rumors going around Skyhold. And Vex was too important to him, his relationship with him was too precious, to be slandered like that.  
And because of that, because of them, he chose his words carefully.

"I've spent the entire day at your desk, worried sick for you. I knew you weren't fighting, just as I knew Leliana had people following you, in case you needed help and I was still worried. At the same time I read all those letters and not in one of them there was a single thought about the state of your well being. In fact it's clear it's quite the opposite. You were the hindrance, the insolent child they didn't want, but still had. They treated you accordingly, until the Inquisition. Now they think you're a fool that's being used, but a valuable tool, as well. So they want to marry you off, hoping to ride coattail on a success they don't think you attained by yourself, but still have. Am I reading this right?"

He shrugged and nodded, sitting quite relaxed for someone who was the subject of such a conversation.

"I think Leliana's suggestion of outright threatening them is, quite frankly an overreaction. But that does not mean this," he gestured at the letter, an expression of utter disgust on his face," can be allowed to continue. It's not the fact that you're the Inquisitor. It's the fact that you're an amazing person, someone everyone in the Inquisition looks up to. A good leader. I've seen many men rise to power as quickly as you have, only to be destroyed by their own arrogance. You....you have this....thing....this spark, that allows you to be the man in charge, but still humble, still down to earth, still a person. And that....that is truly remarkable, amatus. You can't even begin to imagine how proud I am, of you, of us, to be here, by your side, every step of the way. So, I can honestly say, if I see one more letter where your parents, and I use the term loosely, treat you like they've been treating you, I will set sail to Ostwick myself and set them on fire. Then raise their corpses and do it again."

"I'm not sure the spirits you would place in their bodies deserve such treatment, Dori."

"You know I hate that name. And that is beside the point. I'm trying to be serious, amatus. I've practiced and all that."

Vexeris gave him a mock salute, but thankfully stayed silent.

"We should ask Josephine to handle them, from now on."

"I don't want her to see what...."

"She can handle it. Honestly I'm sure she's seen far worse from some of the nobles she associates with. She knows about the problem and she's good at politely destroying them."

"But I don't want them destroyed, Dorian. My brothers are....they're good people. Despite my parents, I love them. I don't want anything that could...."

"I'm sure our lady ambassador can navigate such waters."

"Dorian...."

"They are here to help you, amatus. Not only that, they want to. They are eager to. But you have to let them. And if Josie doesn't work, then we can let Leliana have a go. Failing that we send Cassandra. See how she takes it. She loves bashing on parents, after all."

His smile let him know he'd won.

"We, huh?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No. I am just happy it's _we_ now."

Dorian rolled his eyes. "Leave it to you to pick up on such trivial things."


End file.
